Originally I made this nut butter for a friend's birthday without a recipe write-up in mind. I normally have a pipeline of recipes queued up for testing, photographing and posting - however, your response to it on instagram, lovely readers, warranted not only a write-up but also a free pass to skip the queue!

Pre-roasting nuts is always a good idea, but especially when making nut butters. It draws out hidden flavours of toasted, caramel-y sweetness and a hint of bitterness, too. And if any of you are fans of Nutella, or miss it since going vegan, the toasted hazelnuts are totally reminiscent of the chocolately nut spread! Perhaps one of you wants to experiment by adding some cocoa powder to this recipe?!

If you've never made nut butter before, my advice is be patient. At first, the nuts blend to a dry, crumbly powder, but you must persevere! It takes a good few minutes of blending for the cells to rupture and release their oily, creamy goodness.

As usual, I've aimed for a balanced flavour profile: agave syrup for sweetness, a touch a sea salt, and the roasted nuts for bitterness. I love eating this with apples, dolloping it on top of porridge and slathering it on hot toast. What's your favourite way to eat nut butter?

Roasted Almond, Coconut & Hazelnut Butter

Roasted Almond, Coconut & Hazelnut Butter

Yield:Makes 1 jar

Hands-on time:10 mins

Hands-off time:10 mins

Ingredients: (make sure to see optional substitutions below, too)

200g

(=1½ cups) blanched almonds

50g

(=a little under ½ cup) blanched hazelnuts

15g

(=¼ cup) coconut flakes

1 tsp

coconut oil

1 tsp

agave syrup

¼ tsp

fine sea salt

Process:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/355°F. On a large baking tray, spread out the nuts and bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Shake the tray halfway through. Watch them carefully as they burn quickly.

On a separate baking tray, spread out the coconut chips and bake for 5-10 minutes, depending on your oven, until they're beginning to brown.

Wait for everything to cool. Now put the almonds, hazelnuts and coconut oil in a food processor or large blender and blend for 5-10 minutes until the oil is released and it becomes creamy. You may need to scrape down the sides.

Add the coconut flakes, agave syrup and salt and blend again for 1-2 minutes.